Portland Global Advisors LLC Has $605,000 Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Portland Global Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,686 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 240 shares during the period. Portland Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in 3M during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in 3M during the third quarter worth $27,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in 3M by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 237,297 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 19,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on MMM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Citigroup upped their target price on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.13.

3M Stock Performance

MMM stock opened at $144.74 on Friday. 3M has a twelve month low of $88.23 and a twelve month high of $156.35. The firm has a market cap of $78.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $138.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. Analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

3M Profile

3M Company provides diversified technology services in the United States and internationally. The company’s Safety and Industrial segment offers industrial abrasives and finishing for metalworking applications; autobody repair solutions; closure systems for personal hygiene products, masking, and packaging materials; electrical products and materials for construction and maintenance, power distribution, and electrical original equipment manufacturers; structural adhesives and tapes; respiratory, hearing, eye, and fall protection solutions; and natural and color-coated mineral granules for shingles.